Changes
by TheOtherR.A.B
Summary: It's been five months since Chloe, Derek, Simon and Tori escaped the Edison Group for good. But things are changing now and Chloe has a lot to figure out. Post- "The Reckoning" Pre- "Darkest Rising"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _"The protagonist walks down a narrow street, dimly lit and mostly empty. Silhouettes can be seen through the pulled curtains of the houses, hushed conversations drifting through slightly open windows, the only noise besides her footsteps and her steady heartbeat. As she rounds a corner, she sees a car idling, windows tinted. As she passes, she hears a door open…"_

I stop writing and read over the passage. Then, I crumple the page, tossing it in the bin beside my desk. It joins about a quarter notebook's worth of others. I sigh and turn to a new page but I can't think of anything original. Funny how I can live a life worthy of a movie scene but can't seem to write one anymore.

"Chloe! Could you come help me with dinner?" I hear Aunt Lauren call from downstairs. I check my watch. 5:38. I'd been trying to write for almost two hours with no success. I stood up and stretched, closed my notebook and headed downstairs.

Half an hour later, we were all seated around the table, too small for six of us. Simon and Tori were bickering, like usual. About what, I wasn't sure. I had lost track of the conversation a while ago, sucked into my own thoughts. Kit and Aunt Lauren interjected every so often when the argument would venture too far. Although we were in the same room, I felt like I wasn't really hearing the chatter. Disconnected, like I was just watching everything unfold on a muted TV. Apparently none of the talking was registering as it took Derek poking my arm for me to realize he had been trying to get my attention.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me.

"Nothing"

"You've been staring off into space for at least ten minutes"

I shrugged, stumped. I hadn't noticed it had been that long.

"C'mon," Derek said, grabbing our plates and putting them in the dishwasher. "We're going for a walk."

We headed down the familiar oath through the forest behind our house. Derek slipped his hand around mine, still slightly tentative even after five months. When I squeezed his though, he relaxed, almost like he was waiting for assurance. That I wasn't quiet because I was mad at him. We walked in silence for a while until Derek stopped and turned to face me.

"What's going on?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't know." I tried to find a way to explain. "It's like, something just doesn't feel right to me."

"About what?" Derek asked, worry creeping into his words.

"Not about us," I clarified, and I could practically hear him relax. "It's weird but something about all of this feels incomplete"

"Chloe, you're going to have to tell me what 'all this' means, you really aren't making sense"

"Sorry. It's hard to explain." I paused and tried to choose my words carefully. "I guess I feel like I'm not completely at rest. Like I've still got stuff to figure out."

"What stuff?" Derek looked like he had an idea.

"I don't know"

"Chloe…" I could see from Derek's face that he saw right through my lie. I sighed. He knows me too well.

"Okay. I want to tell my dad about me being a necromancer."

"Chloe, we've talked about this. Your Aunt doesn't think it's a good idea."

"That was when we were on the run. I hate lying to him."

I had been in touch with my dad for the last few months. Once Aunt Lauren felt we were secure enough that neither we or he would be in danger, she let me contact him. I thought back to our last conversation, the reason I was having this conversation with Derek.

 _"Chloe, I know I haven't been around much and… I haven't always been there for you." My dad had sounded very regretful at this last part. "But I want to be there for you now even if it's only over the phone. I've been doing some research, your Aunt sent me some websites, and I've been learning a lot about schizophrenia. I want to understand what you're going through. I want you to be able to come to me if you need it. I don't want to lose you again."_

Yes, my dad still thinks I have schizophrenia. Aunt Lauren said there was no way to tell him I didn't without him questioning my meltdown at school from half a year ago and why I had gone to Lyle House in the first place. And even though I wasn't outright lying, keeping him in the dark felt wrong, especially when he was trying to understand, to help me. I couldn't even talk to him without feeling guilty.

"I can't keep lying to him. He's my family"

"He's barely in your life. I'd hardly call him family anymore" Derek was starting to get impatient.

"How can you say that? He still is"

"What about Simon and Dad? Your Aunt. Hell, even Tori." Derek's voice lowered. "What about me? Aren't we family enough for you"

"You are," I needed him to understand. "It's just something I have to do."

"You've already made up your mind haven't you?"

I nodded.

"Alright. We'll find a way." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Absolutely not." Aunt Lauren had only let me get one sentence out before completely shutting me down.

"Why? He's not in danger anymore, he knows I'm safe so he pulled the reward and the Edison group is over. Why can't he know?"

"Why does he need to know Chloe? He's barely involved in your life as it is, why does he need to know now?"

"I hate lying to him. Why can't you understand that?" I was getting really frustrated with my Aunt. "You kept the truth from me, and look how that turned out."

The look on her face… I'd definitely crossed the line. She took a deep breath and turned away.

"Chloe, it's not up for discussion. Don't ask me again."

I climbed the stairs, still thinking about the exchange with Aunt Lauren. I knew she regretted her role in my ending up at Lyle House. About not telling me I was a necromancer. But she was trying. She was even trying to accept Derek as part of my life now. Which I knew was hard for her, trying to push aside her prejudice. She was getting better but I know he could still tell.

Speaking of Derek… I hadn't seen him since our walk. His dad had pulled him into the garage to help him fix the van. I was pretty sure Derek didn't have any exceptional skills with cars but I guess that's what tends to happen when you're sixteen and taking twelfth grade sciences. He was kind of the only choice.

I knocked on the door of his and Simon's room, greeted by a muffled "come in" from the latter.

"Hey" Simon looked and sounded like he had just been sleeping. Judging by the textbooks next to his bed, I don't think that was his original intention. "How did the talk with your Aunt go?"

"It didn't"

"Sorry"

"I don't know why she cares so much. What does she think will happen?"

"Maybe she's worried your dad will reject you." Simon paused, thinking. "I know she's not crazy about him but she wouldn't want that to happen to you."

"Yeah, maybe." I sighed and sat down on Derek's empty bed. "Have you seen Derek?"

"Not recently. I know he was with Dad" The door creaked open, as if on cue. "Wow," said Simon, smirking, "he must have been practising. Van running again bro?" He directed at Derek as he walked in.

"Mostly," Derek said, sitting down next to me, "Although I don't know for how much longer. I guess that's what happens when you're flying under the radar. You get stuck with the crappy cars you can buy in cash." Derek turned to me. "Did you talk to your Aunt?"

"I did but it didn't go anywhere. She completely shut me down."

Derek shrugged. "Probably for the best."

"Maybe."

Simon stretched, then stood up. "Here, let's do something. I need to get away from these textbooks."

I laughed. "Why, sleeping wasn't enough?"

"Nope. Now come on. There's a pizza place right down the street. I bet you're hungry Derek."

I looked at Derek and grinned. As much as he tried, he couldn't hide it.

"Alright," I said, "Let me get Tori."

The pizza place was packed, unsurprising for a Friday night. Tori and I held a table while the guys went up to the counter to order. We chatted for a while, shallow small talk. I was still too distracted to carry out a proper conversation. When I looked over to the counter to see if the guys were almost done, I saw a flash of movement, not enough to get a good look, but enough for me to recognize the figure as a person.

I whipped my head in the direction it had moved but whatever it was, it was gone.

"What?" Tori had noticed me looking around. "Did you see something?"

"Kind of a flash." I lowered my voice. "I think it might have been a ghost. Like the ghost from Lyle House, I could only see flashes of him. There was a spell blocking him. That's what it looked like."

"But there wouldn't be a spell here. I mean, why would there be? It's just a pizza place."

"Yeah… It was probably nothing."

But I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something.


End file.
